Expert: Talent, not incentives, most important in HQ2 search

A business relocation consultant said attracting talent is the most important part of Amazon's HQ2 search.

Author:
Ryan Takeo

Published:
9:57 PM EST February 5, 2018

Updated:
10:00 PM EST February 5, 2018

A business relocation consultant said attracting talent is the most important part of Amazon’s HQ2 search.

“Everything else is secondary,” said Eric Simonson of Everest Group Research. “Can you get the required volume and type of talent that you need?”

Simonson said his list consists of:

- Atlanta

- Boston

- Chicago

- Dallas

- New York City

- Washington, D.C.

- Toronto

“All the focus on real estate availability, incentives, public transportation, etc. are all nice, but they’re likely to be things that sort of break some of the ties, but they don’t actually help you filter down to the viable candidates,” he said.